Automobile hood covers and “bras” are a common automobile accessory. Hood covers and bras protect the hood and front of the vehicle from damages from bugs, stones and other debris, as well as, hide paint chips, scratches, and dings. Hood covers and bras can also enhance the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle. Heretofore, conventional hood covers have been unable to incorporate the combination of two desirable features, namely, a hood cover which can be fitted to any vehicle hood regardless of size, shape or style, and a hood cover which can be decorated with dye sublimation graphics without distorting the graphics when fitted to vehicle hoods of differing sizes, shapes and styles.
Heretofore, decorative hood covers and bras have been constructed of vinyl with cloth or fleece liners. The vinyl material provides a durable weather proof material, which can be decorated with embroidery and dye sublimation. But, vinyl lacks the elasticity to be applied in a one size fits all hood cover. Consequently, vinyl hood covers are custom designed to fit the unique size, shape and style of each individual vehicle. Vinyl hood covers and bras often have a cloth or fleece liner. Cloth or fleece liners tend to hold moisture. Moisture held in the liner of a hood cover or bra may cause the vehicle's paint to oxidize, which creates “clouding” and discoloration. Moisture in the liner causes mildew, which destroys the cover or bra and damages the vehicle finish.
Other types of hood covers have been constructed from weather resistant elastic fabrics, which allow the covers to be stretched over vehicle hoods regardless of size, shape or style. While these hood covers using elastic fabrics provide improved wicking to reduce moisture problems, decorative graphics cannot be applied to these elastic fabrics. Embroidering graphics on these elastic fabrics, causes the fabrics to bind and distort when stretched over the hood. Graphics applied in a dye sublimation or other printing process bind and distort as the fabric is stretched over the vehicle hood. For example, a graphic of a circle on the hood cover will be distorted and appear as an oval or with a straight side when the cover is fitted to a vehicle hood.